BREAKING NEWS – New York City, New York – Hoda Kotb still has a soft spot for Matt Lauer, though the disgraced TV host has been fired due to his treatment of women. NBC announced that Kotb would replace Lauer as Savannah Guthrie’s co-host during the 7-9 a.m. hours of “Today,” and Kotb revealed she’d heard from Lauer since the news of her promotion was made public. “He was sweet this morning. Certain texts popped up, and there was one from Matt: ‘Congratulations!'” Kotb told E! News. “And he said some nice words.” Lauer was fired in November after several women accused him of harassing them or assaulting them during his time at NBC. “I have nothing against Matt,” she continued. “He did not sexually harass me to the degree he did many other women that worked here, that later quit or he had fired. So based on that, I have a certain level respect for him… or something like that.”
